Hey guys. My dad just bought this receiver for his home theater. We are trying to get Xbox 360 hooked to the receiver via component cables to pass through to the projector via HDMI. Right now, there are component cables and HDMI going to the projector from the receiver, but we'd like to keep the video to just HDMI if possible. I'm not sure what we are doing wrong. I was momentarliy able to see the 360 image, then it flickered out and I couldn't get it back. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

PS: Still waiting to hear from Pioneer Customer Support (via email) on this same issue.

Just got an email back from Pioneer Customer Support:
"Your unit has the latest HDMI software version (H1.003).
The other numbers (D1.003, F1.004 S1.001) pertain to correction of the LFE issue, so if you are having a problem with the subwoofer, you would want to take it in for that upgrade."

UPDATE - I hooked up an optical cable to the DVD recorder and it works great!

I was hooking my VSX-81TXV yesterday. I hooked up a Panasonic ES 20 with component cables. The audio is hooked up with RCA cables. The VSX81 is hooked up to a Panasonic 600U via HDMI cable. Will probably try on optical cable. Any other suggestions?

Picture from the DVD player is great, but I'm not getting any audio through my speakers. Even if it's to pass through, I don't get sound through the TV speakers. Dish Network DVR works, VCR, Tuner, IPOD all work.

Side note on IPOD: I'm disappointed with the on-screen menu. Functionally is good - same menus as ipod, but appearance is low quality.

Just an update on the firmware upgrade, I took my unit in to Jots Electronics (Arlington, Texas). Talked to their technician a guy named Jim. Super nice guy. He upgraded my firmware to the latest version and it now shows:

M1.000 F0.503
D1.003 H1.003
f1.004 s1.001

Haven't notice any difference in the audio, but down the road who knows.

We would like to inform you of the availability of a free firmware upgrade to address a potential service issue with the following Pioneer home A/V receivers:

VSX-72TXV VSX-82TXS
VSX-74TXVi VSX-84TXSi
VSX-81TXV VSX-9110TXV-K

Pioneer has become aware that in some circumstances the above-listed receivers may experience certain audio and/or video symptoms related to the use of an HDMI port on the receiver. The symptoms include (1) picture quality issues (dark screen image, no video image, white screen and/or intermittent picture) when the input signal to the receiver is connected through an analog port (component, S-Video, composite) and the output signal from the receiver is connected though an HDMI port, or (2) low subwoofer speaker sound level when the input signal to the receiver is connected through an HDMI port. Importantly, this potential service issue does not pose any health or safety risk.

If you have an affected home A/V receiver and you are experiencing a service issue as described above, please contact Pioneer Customer Service toll free at 800-421-1404 to arrange for a free firmware upgrade. Pioneer service representatives are available Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. (Eastern Time).

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this potential service issue may cause you, and we thank you for your cooperation and continued support of Pioneer.

Fulfilling the complete high resolution home entertainment experience, Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. today introduces four new A/V receivers that deliver high definition audio and video like never before. The Pioneer® Elite® VSX-90TXV, VSX-91TXH, VSX-92TXH and VSX-94TXH A/V receivers are essential hubs of home theater with superior HDMI connectivity for a host of digital devices. The top three models offer HDMI 1.3a support to handle increased picture and sound demands of new high definition televisions and optical disc players. High resolution powerhouses, the top three models seamlessly pass 1080p 24Hz picture with sophisticated decoding of advanced audio formats Dolby® TrueHD, Dolby® Digital Plus and DTS-HD Master Audio. The VSX-92TXH and VSX-94TXH are two of the industry's first receivers to feature Neural-THX® Surround decoding for faithful reproduction of multi-channel surround sound for movies, music and gaming in the home theater environment.

Well, wish me luck! Just got a pretty decent deal on one. Just a matter of what firmware it turns out to have. At least since I have a perfectly good receiver in use, I can just plug it in and check out the firmware. Then, take it to a service center if I need to.

My midis bring all the Force to the yard; my midis are better than yours!

Well, the one I got has a June 2006 build date, not even as recent a firmware as many who have gotten theirs updated (I checked), but the good news is there's a dealer (Dumas Electronics) just a few miles from me who can do the upgrade with a one-day turnaround. Fingers crossed.

My midis bring all the Force to the yard; my midis are better than yours!

Fellas, I've had my 81 for about 6 months now, and some of the inputs produce a darker screen image. My Xbox 360 image (connected to the 81 via component, HDMI to TV), and my DVD (connected to the 81 via HDMI 2, HDMI to TV) are darker. I'm losing tons of detail in the shadows, and the image is just darker. On HDMI 1 I have my cable box, and it does not suffer from the same problem.

Has anyone else experienced this? Will the firmware upgrade address this? I would have to ship my unit to Texas to get the upgrade, and the PCM over HDMI does not bother me enough to do it, but if the upgrade will fix the dark screen issue, then I'll have to do it.

The upgrade did not seem to make much difference in my HDMI picture, but thats just me. From your post above, it looks like Pioneer is acknowledging some dark picture issues, fixed by the firmware upgrade. If I were you I would call or email Jim at Jots Electronics (Arlington Texas) and ask him that question. I found him very responsive to email and they are an authorized dealer. Good luck.

Although it specifies the problem is with items connected via analog and output to HDMI. That would explain your Xbox issue, but not the DVD issue necessarily. But there have been a couple upgrades, so perhaps the interim firmware addressed the HDMI input, but not the analog?

My upgrade went just fine. It was ready for me the next morning. I checked, had the latest firmware and the LFE PCM over HDMI is just fine. (I'm not running any video to the receiver.) Levels on this Elite are drastically different compared to my old Pioneer. I had to crank the sub output way down when setting levels. Thought maybe it was the boost effecting everything, but tried it without the boost and the test tones were the same. I'm guessing my old receiver just output fairly low because I always had the sub turned up pretty high. Figure it's better that the sub has ample amplification power anyway. And if I turn it down the output from my SACD player would be way too low.

The bass is much tighter from this receiver, less boomy. I don't even have the enhancements enabled yet. I'm guessing the lower crossover capability has something to do with it. Last receiver could only do 100 Hz. Now I'm set at 80 Hz.

Now if only my seller would ship the damn MCACC mic that was missing I'd be set. Manual setup went OK, but I really want to give the acoustical calibration a go.

My midis bring all the Force to the yard; my midis are better than yours!

Is anybody passing 1080p/24 through this receiver? I know some have had trouble with the 82/84. Don't know if the HDMI versions have anything to do with it. I belive those receivers are HDMI 1.1, whereas the 81 is actually HDMI 1.2.

I don't have the monitor for it, but it would be nice to know if anyone's having success with 1080p/24. What about PS3 owners?

My midis bring all the Force to the yard; my midis are better than yours!

The upgrade did not seem to make much difference in my HDMI picture, but thats just me. From your post above, it looks like Pioneer is acknowledging some dark picture issues, fixed by the firmware upgrade. If I were you I would call or email Jim at Jots Electronics (Arlington Texas) and ask him that question. I found him very responsive to email and they are an authorized dealer. Good luck.

Gary

Jots is where I'm going to send it. I just hate packaging this fragile, expensive receiver for a trip to Texas. Any advice on adequate packaging? I threw the box out like an idiot.

Not really. I can understand throwing out the boxes, I get so much "stuff" off the net its impossible to keep the boxes to all of it. If there is a moving supplies or packing store in your area check with them about what they recommend regarding shipping/moving electronics equipment. If nothing else they should be able to sell you a good strong box that is the right size to use. Its really hard to understand why Pioneer has so few authorized dealers, that can upgrade firmware? Good luck.

I thought I'd put this here since there is a lot of convo about this receiver I'm asking about.

Need some set up help, I'm having trouble with the operating instructions.

I just hooked up my Pioneer VSX-81TXV to a Samsung LN-T4665F and I can't get the dvd player's (old Sony model) video to display on the tv. This is my setup:

Component cables out from dvd player, in to receiver component input #1. Digital audio cable out from dvd player, in to receiver digital input #2. I have no issues with the audio, it is coming out of my Klipsch speaker system just fine.

However, I have a HDMI cable out from the receiver into slot #1 of the Samsung. I've done all the input setups on the receiver so that it knows where to look, but I cannot get the dvd video to show on the screen. I can't get the receiver menus to display on the tv either.

I'm under the impression that once you tell the reciever what inputs to look at, then it will route everything out through the HDMI. Is this correct? What am I doing wrong? Could the firmware issue I read about above be an answer?

Yes I do, and it works fine. The tv audio is running through the receiver so that I can use my speakers.

After doing some playing around, and talking to Pioneer, I found out a couple things.

1) The only way to get the receivers menus to display on the tv is if I had a Pioneer tv also. There is a special cable that connects the two. I thought that the receiver passed the menus through a component cable, or whatever was connected to the tv.

2) The tech "help" from Pioneer told me that this receiver does not convert from component to HDMI. This confuses me, because I thought it at least passed whatever the inputs were (component, composite, s-video) out through HDMI. This is what the manual says, and what I've gathered from reading things posted on here.

Yes I do, and it works fine. The tv audio is running through the receiver so that I can use my speakers.

After doing some playing around, and talking to Pioneer, I found out a couple things.

1) The only way to get the receivers menus to display on the tv is if I had a Pioneer tv also. There is a special cable that connects the two. I thought that the receiver passed the menus through a component cable, or whatever was connected to the tv.

2) The tech "help" from Pioneer told me that this receiver does not convert from component to HDMI. This confuses me, because I thought it at least passed whatever the inputs were (component, composite, s-video) out through HDMI. This is what the manual says, and what I've gathered from reading things posted on here.

Well, any more assistance would be appreciated!

I think the manual does say something about it not doing anything with a component signal. I guess they figure if you're running HDMI to your TV that you're running HDMI from your DVD player too (not a good assumption). It should change all other input types to HDMI output though.

For the AVR menu, just run a component or s-video cable to your TV and switch TV inputs when you use it. It's an ugly menu; don't worry about quality. You don't need a Pioneer TV. That BS. I think the RCA video output and S-video output are just for the AVR menu. If you're not using them, you're not going to see the menu on your TV.

My midis bring all the Force to the yard; my midis are better than yours!

Is anybody passing 1080p/24 through this receiver? I know some have had trouble with the 82/84. Don't know if the HDMI versions have anything to do with it. I belive those receivers are HDMI 1.1, whereas the 81 is actually HDMI 1.2.

I think the manual does say something about it not doing anything with a component signal. I guess they figure if you're running HDMI to your TV that you're running HDMI from your DVD player too (not a good assumption). It should change all other input types to HDMI output though.

For the AVR menu, just run a component or s-video cable to your TV and switch TV inputs when you use it. It's an ugly menu; don't worry about quality. You don't need a Pioneer TV. That BS. I think the RCA video output and S-video output are just for the AVR menu. If you're not using them, you're not going to see the menu on your TV.

My 81 sure does pass component through my HDMI connection to the TV. I'm getting a dark image, but it works.

Mark me down as another who is having the dark screen problem. I thought it was just me before I checked this thread out. I am running my Directv through the HDMI 1 port and my LG DVD player through the HDMI 2 port with HDMI running from the receiver to the tv.

The satellite looks fine, but the DVD image seems dark to me. I guess the simple solution would be to not run video through the receiver.